Friday, July 31, 2009

We want you to know how much we appreciate your comments on our posts, especially when you offer a great suggestion in the use of our products.On post 7/27/09 we discussed the importance of marking your Vanish thread.Many of you had additional ideas that we found very helpful.

Ann in Texas said that she stores her spools of Vanish in pill bottles. She writes instructions on the label to clearly identify the bottle as being different.

Bridget in Illinois: "I love Vanish! I keep mine in it's labeled bag that it came in. This way it's protected from the humidity, and from me being scatter-brained and ending up as one of your horror stories."Pam in South Carolina marks her bobbin filled with Vanish, also. She keeps her bobbins and spool separate from the rest of her Superior Threads. When she has Vanish on her machine, she puts a note on the machine as a reminder.

Margo from Tennessee keeps her Vanish in a Ziplock type bag to keep the moisture out. She also keeps the original label in the bag along with the bobbin wound with Vanish.

Thank you Ann, Bridget, Pam and Margo. With these additional suggestions, we know we can use our Vanish with ease.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

On Tuesday's we will be featuring projects made with Texture Magic that have been sent in from our readers.Our first contributor is Janett Rice from Janett Rice Fiber Art.Janett has taught 2 classes in Henderson, Nevada using Texture Magic. Her first class was a tote bag from a pattern designed by Annie Unrein.Janett shared her teaching experience with us: "The students were totally amazed by the Texture Magic. At first they were afraid to steam it, but once they got over their fear they jumped for joy like little children. Each time a student went to the ironing board, the others stopped working and watched. They were continually amazed as each new piece was steamed. It was such a joy to watch."

Janett's second class was an Intermediate level, for those who had taken the first class. She had her students use Texture Magic on a fabric flower design. The flowers were then appliqued to a background fabric. The students' pieces were finished as either a wall hanging or pillow.

"Hawaiian Hibiscus Flower" using Texture Magic by Janett Rice.

Janett added antique lace and real seashells.

"Cosmos Flower" in Sepia tones using Texture Magic by Janett Rice

Janett added glass and copper beads.

Thank you Janett for sharing with us your beautiful work. We look forward to seeing more of your creativity featuring Texture Magic.

Monday, July 27, 2009

When you purchase any of our Vanish products, make sure to mark your thread cone in a distinctive way. One of our staff members uses a permanent black marking pen to write Vanish on the cone.

We recently heard a sad story that brought this point to mind: One of our customers grabbed her Vanish thread, thinking it was just a regular white thread. She then proceeded to quilt her entire quilt using Vanish. When she finished, she went to soak off her markings and the thread dissolved. All that hard work had to be redone!

Another true story is of a mother who repaired a split in her high school son's football pants. She grabbed the nearest white thread not realizing it was Vanish. Day after day, the seam would open up again. After three times, she finally realized she had been using Vanish thread and perspiration kept dissolving it. Sorry son!

We love Vanish thread, and it plays a wonderful part in our quilting world . . . it is just not to be used as a permanent thread (or in the use of swimwear see blog post of 7/6/09).

Friday, July 24, 2009

At noon on Fridays (when Bob is in town) the Superior Threads staff continues with our fierce games of SplashBall. We leave the air conditioned office and warehouse and go play for an hour and a half.

Recently we had one of the hardest fought battles of the season. Each game goes to 21 points but a team must win by 4 points. Last week's game went way into multiple overtimes. This game had an ending score of 48-44.

In the hot summer weather of St. George, Utah (108 degrees last Friday) it feels great to play in the pool. Some of us come away with a few bruises, but we consider it a small price to pay. It's worth it.

Bob likes to come up with new ways to play the game. He actually asks his team members to block for him.Aren't those football rules, Bob?

Team members like to share a lot of high fives as they make a basket.

Even the women on the team don't go unscathed. Yes, that's Bob's hand gently shoving Yeimy in the face. ("Hey! someone pushed me. I was trying to protect her from the bad guys!")

We want to point out that Bob's brutality in the pool doesn't pay off. His team LOST, and Kyle's (with the ball in the above photo) team won.(Bob's note: "I let them win.")Until next week when we have a re-match.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Kassi Anderson (age 17) works part time here at Superior Threads. She is our "catch all girl" who does what ever job needs to be done at the moment and there are many. Kassi just graduated from high school and simultaneously was attending college so she earned an Associate Degree from college at the same time. She will attend BYU-Idaho and will already be a junior in college.This summer, Kassi had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Zambia for two weeks as a volunteer for "Mothers Without Borders."

Kassi visited a village where the women sew to provide income for their families. She had heard of one woman who makes pants for a living and Kassi decided to have a pair of pants specially made for herself.

As she was standing for a fitting, Kassi looked over and saw the seamstress was using Superior Threads So Fine thread on the machine! Excitedly Kassi exclaimed, "That's our thread! I work at Superior Threads!"The seamstress replied, "That is the best thread for my machine! My machine loves that thread. Please tell your boss to send more Superior Threads!"

We had previously sent a donation to Africa and we were thrilled to hear of our product being put to use. More thread has been sent.Kassi beamed, "Now I have pants from Superior Threads made in Africa!"

Monday, July 20, 2009

Meet Yeimy and Ryan Henke, our Show Management Team.Yeimy (pronounced Jamie) and Ryan are a husband and wife team and work together in helping Superior Threads run more efficiently.In their position as Show Management, Yeimy and Ryan are responsible for all the background work in preparing for our booth at shows. They pack the inventory, do the paper work, and communicate with the show organization for each event we attend.There are many details for set up and a lot of thought and science goes into our booth. We can always count on Yeimy and Ryan to think through the needs so we are stocked with products you wish to purchase.

Yeimy's face may look familiar to you. She has worked for Superior Threads for over four years and was our Warehouse Manager. Yeimy is from Costa Rica and came to the United States as a newlywed. Superior Threads Splashball is her favorite sport (see blog post on 5/11/09).

Ryan has been with us for six months and appreciates the positive environment where employees treat each other with respect. At first both wondered if working together as husband and wife would cause conflict, but they have been pleasantly surprised at how well things have worked out.Yeimy said, "Everything we do is fun. There is no unimportant job. We love working with our products. Now that I am going to shows and I get to see how excited people are to receive our products. I love feeling the happy energy that is going on!"

Ryan agreed by saying he thinks that quilters are the easiest people to get along with. As a hobby, Ryan is a musician and is currently working on a new song for Superior Threads that will eventually be on our website.When you see Yeimy and Ryan in our booth, make sure to come by and say Hello!

Friday, July 17, 2009

For this Month's Special we are featuring Brytes thread at 50% off.Brytes by Caryl Bryer Fallert is a #30/3-ply high-sheen polyester thread that is meant to be bright and visible. If you want a thread that really shows up, this is the one.Our 2,200 yard cone is available in 50 colors and is on sale for $9.90 (reg. $19.80).Click HERE to visit the Brytes web page.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Our building addition will be completed in August. We have added 7,000 square feet of classroom space that will house the School Of Threadology.Our first two sessions have now been scheduled for the School.

SEPTEMBER 28-30,2009Certified Superior Threadologist session.

NOVEMBER 11-13, 20092 days with Superior Educators1 day with John Flynn

Each 3 Day Session Includes:

Hands on Classes

Seminars and Lectures

Tour of our Office and Warehouse

Cost: Most sessions are $295 per person. You will receive: 3 days of classes, class supplies, printed materials, a lot of thread, and staff help.

Participants pay their own way to St. George, Utah, and also pay for their own hotel accommodations. Some meals are included, and details will be provided for each individual session.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Like you, we love to visit quilt stores. We especially enjoy quilt stores that carry Superior Threads products.We recently stopped by to say hello at 35th Ave Sew & Vac in Phoenix, Arizona.This store carries over 15,000 bolts of fabric.They also offer a large selection of books, kits, and notions.We enjoyed sitting down with owners Bill and Rita Fose, and meeting their store managers Barbara and Jackie. We talk on the phone often with Barbara and Jackie as they place orders with and now have faces to place with the names and pleasant voices.

35th Ave Sew & Vac is located at 3500 W. Northern Ave, Phoenix, AZ.They also have two other stores located in Chandler and El Mirage.If you are in the area, and are looking for Superior Threads products, you will find a good selection of King Tut, Bottom Line, So Fine, and Poly Quilter.They have recently have added Texture Magic, so make sure to check out the creative ways they will be using our new product.

Friday, July 10, 2009

At Superior Threads, we are constantly looking for ways to offer better service to our customers. You are very important to us, and we want you to have a great experience when working with our products and staff.We have now added a special feature to our web site called "Live Help."This feature provides fast, immediate service to our readers.

By clicking on the icon "Live Help" button at the top right hand corner of our web page, you can communicate with an office representative during business hours. If you are at your computer and prefer not to call, you can chat live.You can receive immediate answers to your technical questions, product information, and orders.HOW IT WORKS:Click on the Live Help button in the right hand corner.Type in your customer name.Type your question in the comment box and send!Our office staff will respond quickly with answers to your questions.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Several years ago when our youngest son, Todd, was 14 years old, he was helping us pack some thread to be shipped.He noticed the label on Vanish said "water soluble thread," and asked us why anyone would want thread that dissolves because most thread is used to hold things together.We explained to him that many quilters use techniques such as trapunto, where they need a water soluble thread that will dissolve in water.This got Todd to thinking . . . . water soluble thread and he asked us, "May I have a spool of that thread?"We had great hopes. We could see our son taking interest in our business and perhaps he would become a famous quilter such as Ricky Tims or John Flynn.We gave him a spool of thread and said, "Go and Create."Todd went to his room and pulled out an old swimsuit and immediately began cutting it apart at the seams.He then hand sewed the seams back together using Vanish thread.Todd waited very patiently for about two weeks when a group of his friends came to our house and suggested they go swimming in our pool.Of course, one friend needed to borrow a suit. "No problem!" Todd offered, "I have a spare!"Within 20 seconds after the boys had jumped into the pool, imagine what happened to the borrowed suit? Poor Joe!!!You can guess the ending to this story.We need to mention that Mother Superior happened to be gardening in the backyard at the time.

They need to be stored in a dry place and in resealable bags. Damp surfaces need to be avoided. Don't lick the thread before threading the needle.

Both products can be used in the bottom and top of the machine.

The strengths of Extra and Lite are different. Lite is about 1/3rd finer.

On Longarm Machines: We recommend Vanish-Extra if used as the top thread. Either Vanish-Extra or Vanish-Lite can be used in the bobbin. Use a #19 (MR4.0) needle. The thread requires soaking to dissolve.

On Home Machines: We recommend Vanish-Lite for home machines. Use an #80/12 Topstitch needle. You can spritz with water to dissolve.

Vanish can also be used to temporarily hold pieces in place, as in basting. In the old days we had to pick our basting threads out. Now they dissolve!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Superior Threads Metallic is constructed in a unique way that makes sewing a dream. We are the only thread company that absolutely guarantees our thread will work, metallic included.Metallic Thread Frustrations? We can help!Trying to turn real metal into a smooth-sewing thread is not an easy task.To successfully run Metallics, make sure the thread you are using has three essential components. Poor quality metallic thread has nearly ruined this metallic thread's reputation, but there is quality metallic thread available, and at prices less expensive than some of those very poor imitators. Choose wisely.

3 Essential Components

1. Does it have a nylon core? A nylon core is an indication of strength and quality. Polyester and rayon are weaker. A nylon core, combined with "paper-pasting," prevents tangling.

2. Is it "paper-pasted"? The best Metallics will have a coat of rice paper pasted over the nylon core. This adheres the nylon core to the metal, resulting in a stronger thread. Metallic threads without the rice paper pasting do not hold up as well during high-speed sewing.

3. Does it have a protective coating? If the thread has a protective coating over the outer metallic layer, the thread will run better and with less friction. An outer coating also protects against fraying and shredding.

Superior's metallic thread was originally made for Japan's kimono industry. It is the thread selected to use on $20,000 kimonos. It is Japan's finest quality. It will save you money and frustration by running smoothly with minimal downtime. Guaranteed to be the best metallic you've ever run.Choose the best quality thread available. The quality of metallic threads ranges as wide as that of cars. There is the Yugo and there is the Rolls Royce. Quite surprisingly, when compared yard for yard, the price of metallic thread does not vary much regardless of the quality you choose. In the metallic thread world, you will pay the same price, yard for yard, for a Yugo as you will for a Rolls Royce. However, you will not find a Rolls Royce in a subcompact model. Likewise, you will not find the best metallic on a tiny spool. Quality metallic threads are not put on small 100 or 200-yard spools. The smallest size is usually a 500-yard spool. Numerous notions and techniques have been developed to try to make a poor quality thread work. We've heard them all, including silicon lubricant, put the thread in the freezer, position the spool of thread all the way across the room, spray with water, keep in a ziplock bag, and turn the spool upside down.

If you start with a good quality thread, you will not need the gimmicks.The following tips will be sufficient to allow you to fall in love with and successfully use Metallics: